On the second day of the 125th International Olympic Commission (IOC) Session in Buenos Aries, the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games reported to the IOC Membership about the state of preparations of their editions of the Games. The Session also heard the final report from the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), which was given by its Chairman Sebastian Coe, eight years after their election as a host city in Singapore in 2007.
Reflecting on the past seven years, Coe underlined the tremendous successes that LOCOG and all its partners had been able to achieve during the seven years of preparations and, of course, in the delivery of the Games. He also focused on the outstanding legacy that London 2012 has delivered to the city of London, Great Britain, sport, and the Olympic Movement.
This was supported by Denis Oswald, the IOC’s Coordination Commission Chairman for the London Games, who commented, “[LOCOG’s] vision was to use the power of the Games to inspire a generation and transform a neglected part of the capital, bringing major social and economic benefits to a deprived area. This has been a spectacular illustration of the power of the Games to change people’s lives and to modify the face of a city.” LOCOG’s presentation concluded with a standing ovation led by IOC President Rogge in thanks for the work of the British team in delivering the Games.
The organisers of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games were up next with their President Dmitry Chernyshenko updating the Session on their preparations with only five months to go until the Games open. Chernyshenko spoke of the great progress that had been made in delivering venues and infrastructure, as well as in the finalization of Sochi’s operational plans.
Coordination Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Killy noted, “An intensive programme of test events, which was delivered mostly this past winter by Sochi 2014 and the Russian Sports Ministry, has been the most obvious example [of the progress made since last summer]. In total, almost 70 test events have been organized by Sochi. Whether they were of an international or local dimension, they have all been rich in lessons for Sochi 2014 and its partners. They have confirmed the quality of the competition venues and of the teams that will be called upon to operate them at the start of next year.”
Following the fifth visit of the IOC’s Coordination Commission to Rio de Janeiro only a week ago, the hosts of the 2016 Games, led by their President Carlos Arthur Nuzman, presented an update on the advances that were being made in a number of areas of Games preparations including venue and infrastructure construction, planning, and legacy.
Nawal El Moutawkel, Chair of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Rio 2016 Games, spoke of the progress that Rio had accomplished since their last session report in London last July. “Rio 2016 has made significant progress over the last year,” she said. El Moutawakel continued by emphasising that Rio 2016 had identified the key opportunities and risks and was learning the lessons of other major events that were being held in Brazil: “The opportunities and risks are now well identified. The Rio 2016 team, under the leadership of Carlos Nuzman and the new CEO, Sidney Levy, is adjusting its plans accordingly. They are also taking into account the lessons learned from the Confederations Cup and the World Youth Day.”
The last Games report was delivered by President Jinsun Kim and his team from the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee, who presented their new emblem to the Session and the advances that were being made in delivering the Korea’s first Olympic Winter Games.
IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg also looked to the future, by reminding the Korean delegation that they would have an unparalleled opportunity to learn from their observation of the Sochi Games and that once Sochi was over PyeongChang would really be under the spotlight, as the world turned its attention to Korea and the 2018 Games.
